Air cooled condenser installation

Abstract

An air cooled condenser installation comprising a first group of heat exchange elements including a plurality of rows of upright tubes impinged by a stream of cooling air and connected at upper and lower open ends by an upper manifold respectively, a lower collecting chamber to each other, and a steam conduit communcating with the upper manifold so that the steam flows in downward direction through the tubes and partly condenses therein with the condensate flowing in the same direction, and a second group of heat exchange elements including a second plurality of upright tubes impinged by a second stream of cooling air and connected at upper and lower open ends respectively by an upper chamber and a lower chamber, and a conduit connecting said lower collecting chamber of said first group of heat exchange elements with the lower chamber of the second group of heat exchange elements so that steam which has not been condensed in the first group of heat exchange elements will flow in upward direction through the second plurality of tubes to thereby condense, with the condensate flowing in downward direction, in opposition to the flow of the steam.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims: 
     
       1. An air cooled condenser installation comprising first heat exchange means comprising a plurality of rows of substantially upright tubes adapted to be impinged by a stream of cooling air in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the tubes, each of the tubes having an upper and a lower open end; an upper manifold communicating with the upper open ends of said tubes; a lower collecting chamber communicating with the lower open ends of said tubes; a steam conduit communicating with said upper manifold so that steam passing therethrough flows downwardly through said tubes to partly condense with the thus-formed condensate flowing likewise downwardly into said lower collecting chamber; second heat exchange means comprising a plurality of second rows of substantially upright tubes adapted to be impinged by a second stream of cooling air flowing transverse to the elongation of said second tubes, each of said tubes in said second rows having an upper and a lower open end; a lower distribution chamber communicating with the lower open ends of the tubes of said second rows; an upper distribution chamber communicating with the upper open ends of the tubes of said second rows; a connecting steam conduit connecting said lower collecting chamber of said first heat exchange means with said lower distribution chamber of said second heat exchange means so that steam which has not been condensed in said first heat exchange means flows upwardly through said tubes of said second rows of tubes from said lower to said upper distribution chamber to thereby condense with the thus-formed condensate flowing in countercurrent direction to the steam; said second heat exchange means including further a plurality of additional substantially upright tubes having each an upper and a lower open end and being arranged in front of the tubes of said second rows to be first impinged by said second stream of cooling air, said additional tubes communicating at the lower ends thereof with said lower distribution chamber; and a branch conduit branching off from said steam conduit and communicating with the upper open ends of said additional tubes so that steam passing therethrough flows downwardly through said additional tubes and condenses with the thus-formed condensate flowing in the same direction as the steam. 
     
     
       2. An air cooled condenser installation as defined in claim 1, wherein each of said tubes is provided with cooling fins projecting from the outer surface thereof. 
     
     
       3. An air cooled condenser installation as defined in claim 1, wherein the plurality of additional tubes are arranged in longitudinal and transverse direction to cover the same area as the tubes of said plurality of second rows. 
     
     
       4. An air cooled condenser installation as defined in claim 1, wherein said plurality of additional tubes form one unit with said plurality of second rows of tubes. 
     
     
       5. An air cooled condenser installation as defined in claim 4, wherein said upper distribution chamber is divided into two compartments, one of which communicates with the upper open ends of said plurality of said second rows of tubes and the other with the upper open ends of said plurality of additional tubes, said branch conduit communicating with said other compartment. 
     
     
       6. An air cooled condenser installation as defined in claim 1, and including throttles arranged in the tubes of said first heat exchange means with the exception of the tubes which are first impinged by the first-mentioned stream of cooling air, said throttles being arranged adjacent said collecting chamber and the open cross-section of the throttles decreases in the direction of the flow of cooling air from one to the next row of tubes. 
     
     
       7. An air cooled condenser installation as defined in claim 1, and including first means cooperating with said first heat exchange means for producing a first stream of cooling air in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the tubes of said first heat exchange means, and second means cooperating with said second heat exchange means for producing a second stream of cooling air in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the tubes of said second heat exchange means and so that said additional tubes are first impinged by said second air stream. 
     
     
       8. An air cooled condenser installation as defined in claim 7, wherein said first and said second means for producing streams of cooling air are constituted by a ventilator.